LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant Scots baseball team swept a doubleheader from Tennessee Temple on Saturday afternoon before honoring its six seniors. The Scots won the first game 6-4 and took the second 10-8 as they won all three games in the series.
The Scots' record bumps up to 19-17 overall, while Tennessee Temple falls to 12-32-1 on the season.
The six seniors included: Jonathan Carter, James Rollins, Andre Glover, Tyler Smith, Demarius Johnson, and Eddie Jamerson. Together, the six players were instrumental in taking the Covenant baseball program to its school-record 27 wins last season and just one game short of the NCCAA Baseball World Series.
Game One
The Scots and the Crusaders battled it out matching each run-for-run in the third and fourth innings. The Crusaders started the scoring in the top of the third after a double by Nico McElrath and a single by Jon Clayton that plated McElrath. Two batters later, Chris Altman drove home Clayton with a single to make it 2-0. After another single to load the bases, Dustin Stowers was hit by a pitch that allowed Ryan Bruce to score and give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
Covenant matched Temple's runs with three runs in its half of the third. K.C. Simons singled with one out and advanced to third on a stolen base and throwing error. David Lockwood then singled home Simons. James Rollins followed with a triple to center field and scored on a Sterling Witt sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Each team scored a run in the fourth inning and the score remained 4-4 until the bottom of the sixth. With runners on third and second and one out, Simons stepped up to the plate and hit a single that allowed Kurt Wiles and Carter to break the 4-4 tie and give Covenant a 6-4 lead.
Relief pitcher Demarius Johnson (4-2) was awarded the win for the Scots with 2.1 innings pitched. Johnson struck out two batters with only one hit in 26 pitches. Hunter Giles of the Crusaders was given the loss after pitching the entire six innings and allowing four earned runs.
Simons went 3-for-3 with a run and two RBIs. Chris Rollins ended 1-for-2 with an RBI, while brother James Rollins was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI. David Lockwood also went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Game Two
Coming off the win, the Scots played the Crusaders in game three and took the series sweep with a 10-8 win.
The Crusaders started off the scoring again for the game with two runs in the first inning. But Covenant responded with four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-2 lead. Scott Gillespie and Chris Rollins each had run-scoring singles, while Carter drove in two with a single to center field to cap the scoring.
Temple bounced back with three runs in the third inning to take a brief 5-4 lead, but again the Scots answered with two runs of their own to regain the lead at 6-5. Covenant added a run in the fourth inning as Witt grounded out to first that allowed Lockwood to score and make it 7-5.
Temple scored twice in the top of the fifth to tie the game, but the Scots pulled away with two runs in the fifth and a single run in the sixth.
The Crusaders made one last chance in the seventh inning. Brandon Davis stepped up and nailed a home run over the left field fence for the final run of the game. With Davis' run, the game finished 10-8 for the Scots.
Covenant relief pitcher Brian Simons (1-3) was awarded the win with three innings pitched and two earned runs. Alec Mitchell of the Scots was given his first save for the season after two innings pitched and two strikeouts on 24 pitches.
Crusaders starting pitcher Josh Daniel was saddled with the loss after pitching all six innings and even took a ball in the back from a hit in the second inning. Daniel allowed six earned runs with one strikeout.
K.C. Simons went 1-for-3 with a run while Lockwood went 2-for-3 with two runs in the game. Chris Rollins went 3-for-4 four with three runs and an RBI, and brother James Rollins ended 2-for-4. Gillespie, Will Cleland, and Witt each scored a run. Carter added a hit and two RBIs.
The Scots play a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 24 against Hiwassee College on Lookout Mountain. Game one is set to start at 2 p.m.
